THERE may only be 16 months between them. But young Hearts centre-back Brad McKay reckons it’s like playing with an experienced veteran with Danny Wilson by his side.

McKay has been a revelation at the heart of the Jambos’ defence so far this season, partnering Wilson who is now club captain at Tynecastle.

At 20, the kid is just over a year younger than the Scotland international – but insists he’s learning every day from Wilson’s nous at the back.

And McKay insists his new defensive side-kick is an inspiration to him and every other youngster in Gary Locke’s squad. He said: “I’m learning a lot from Danny. He’s still young himself but has already done a lot in his career, so he’s an experienced youngster.

“He’s played with big clubs like Rangers and Liverpool, he’s played for Scotland at Under-21 and senior level. Now he’s the Hearts captain so it’s a pleasure to play alongside him and great to have him here at Tynecastle.

“When you see what he’s achieved as a player already, despite being so young, it’s an inspiration to the rest of us.

“Danny’s also a great lad in the dressing-room, he helps the younger boys and he’s vocal in there. He also collects the fines at the club – and he isn’t quiet about that either.

“He always talks to me on the park, tries to help me. I help him as well when I can and I think you need to have partnerships all over the park.

“You need a relationship at centre-back especially and I feel Danny and I are forming a good one at the moment.”

If McKay thought he’d made the grade by breaking into the Hearts first-team then starring in a 1-0 derby victory over Hibs, he was in for a rude awakening.

Because, after being called into Billy Stark’s Scotland Under-21 squad for the first time, he was on the receiving end of a 6-0 drubbing by England at Bramall Lane last week.

McKay, like the rest of the Scots’ side, was given the runaround by Premier League stars such as Connor Wickham, Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley and Jonjo Shelvey. But the defeat has only made the defender even more determined to keep getting better.

He said: “That was a big week for me. It was great to beat Hibs and then go on to play for Scotland Under-21s.

“I had never been called up by my country at any level before so to come straight in was brilliant. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a great result for us.

“I was watching Match of the Day on Saturday night and the English guys we played against were playing well and scoring goals.

“They are in the Premier League and it was an eye-opener to see these guys up close.

“It definitely keeps your feet on the ground. You think you’re a player because you’re in the Hearts first team at a young age and doing well. But then you see how developed these boys are and the size of them. They are huge but great players as well. It was a huge learning curve for me.

“Last season I thought I’d maybe get a chance here and all the hard work has paid off.

“Sometimes in football it takes a few injuries for you to get an opportunity. For me, it’s taken a few job losses as well as injuries to get in. But I want to take my chance – any way it comes.”

Hearts have picked up four points from their opening three Premiership games, which still leaves them on -11 and chasing the rest of the pack.

But McKay believes if Locke’s side can get to zero points as quickly as possible it will give them the platform to catch others and ensure their survival in the top division.

He said: “Of course, the points deduction is on everyone’s mind and it’s hard not to look at it. We know we have a job on our hands trying to get the points back. But once we get to zero, we can take it from there.

“I think when we get there, we’ll be flying after that. When we beat Hibs, all the Hearts fans were going on about how the Hibs supporters were scared we might catch them.

“But being level with Hibs or worrying them isn’t our priority – we just want as many points on the board as possible so we can get in contention to stay in the top league.”